Transgender

Forum












From our fabulous News Hawks!

Have you seen a TG-related news story online or in your local paper? Send it in to TGF and become a News Hawk! Don't assume we know everything that's out there, because you are our eyes and ears. To file a story, send it in to Cindy.

TG Hate Bill Makes Progress in Calif.

Contributed by Elizabether Parker
via UPI
June 23, 1998

SACRAMENTO, CA-- Legislation to strengthen prosecution of gender-related hate crimes, including those involving people who dress like the opposite sex, has won approval of the Senate Public Safety Committee.

The bill by Assemblywoman Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, would clarify that sentence enhancements for hate crimes would apply to cases where the victim's appearance, dress or behavior was found inappropriate by their attacker.

Kuehl says few district attorneys outside Los Angeles and San Francisco are bringing charges in attacks on transgender victims under guidelines of present hate crimes law.

She says her bill would cover cases where, for example, the defendant says, "I hate women and I'm going to beat you up because you're a woman," or says: "You aren't dressed like a woman. I'm going to beat you up."

Kuehl cited studies showing that cross-dressing people and others in the transgender category are at greater risk of being attacked than the general population.

Stuff A Wild Bikini!

Contributed by Elizabeth Parker
via Reuters
June 26, 1998

SAN FRANCISCO - For a grand prize of $100, entrants in the "How to Stuff a Wild Bikini" contest at the Castro Theater in San Francisco, Friday, July 17. The competition is open to "all ages, genders and body types," says organizer Mark Huestis. Participating in the event will be Troy Donahue and Sandra Dee. To enter, please call (415) 863-0611 ... and not The PEOPLE Daily.

Rockport Is Comfortable With Ru

Contributed by Dale Carlson
via Gay-Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
June 22, 1998

LOS ANGELES - A Rockport shoes ad which appeared in the June 14 Los Angeles Times, and possibly in other outlets as well, features drag superstar RuPaul dressed in a sharp suit, holding a cane (in boy drag) and wearing Rockport men's dress shoes. RuPaul states, "I'm comfortable being a man." At the bottom of the ad, the text reads: "be comfortable. uncompromise. start with your feet."

McDonald: Loser Again

Contributed by Elizabeth Parker
via Reuters
June 26, 1998

Because his movie "Dirty Work" performed so miserably at the box office, former "Saturday Night Live" comic Norm MacDonald has had the plug pulled from his proposed next movie, "Ballbusted." Variety reports that the move by MGM shocked the film's creative team, Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, who were set to make their directorial debut. Their writing credits include "Ed Wood" and "The People vs. Larry Flynt." "Ballbusted" is being shopped elsewhere.

MacDonald gained notoriety in the TG community when he made fun of the death of an FTM on national television two years ago.

SF Shelter for Battered Gays

Contributed by Rachelle Austin
via Reuters
June 26, 1998

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A community group in San Francisco, where up to 30 percent of the population is thought to be gay, plans to open the nation's first shelter for battered gay and bisexual men, officials said Friday.

Community United Against Violence (CUAV), a group that fights violence against gays and lesbians, said it plans to reserve four beds at a homeless shelter for battered men.

``Battered gay men, like battered women, face a housing crisis in attempting to leave violent relationships,'' said Jennifer Rakowski, hate violence project coordinator at CUAV.

``It's been a problem that people have not wanted to recognize ... but someone does not have to be married to someone to be in a cycle of domestic violence,'' Rakowski said.

Rakowski said that while battered lesbian women may seek refuge at four shelters in the city, it is extremely difficult to find similar accommodations for battered men.

San Francisco Supervisor Mark Leno has asked that $37,000 of the city's budget for the 1998-99 fiscal year be used to fund the new program.

Under the new initiative, victims of domestic violence could stay in the shelter for three months and then be eligible for financial help to find a permanent place to live.

Citing figures from a 1992 book entitled ``Violent Betrayal,'' CUAV said domestic violence is estimated to occur in between 25 and 33 percent of same-sex relationships.

By comparison, estimates on the prevalence of domestic violence in heterosexual relationships vary widely. Conservative estimates suggest the problem exists in one in 10 relationships, but the American Psychological Association says violence against women occurs in 20 percent of dating couples.

TGF's Home Page